The perceptions of FE teachers about the impact of in-service initial teacher education on their professional development and practice

Since 1997, successive governments in England have consistently introduced a range of interventions aimed at developing the quality of training of FE teachers. It has been suggested that these should engender better teaching, which in turn should improve achievement of learners, and subsequently produce a workforce with global competitive advantage. This study explores and analyses the views of a sample of FE teachers and their managers on the impact of an in-service initial teacher education programme on teachers’ development and practice. The case study research uses online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to collect data from participants drawn from both academic and vocational curriculum areas of a large FE college.
The study employs Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field and capital and Giddens’ structuration framework of structure and agency to interpret and explain social practices and actions. Even though the past can frame agents’ dispositions, agents also have the capacity to accommodate and integrate new conditions in shaping future practices. An understanding of power relations within and between fields has been useful in explaining practitioners’ actions, and the concept of capital has been beneficial in analysing practitioners’ influence, and some factors that drive their actions. Initial findings from this study indicate that while structure can constrain agents’ actions, it can also be enabling.
Although teachers have faced some constraints and challenges whilst on the training programme, there is a significant positive perception of the knowledge, skills and competencies that they have acquired. Findings also indicate that the social-cultural construction of knowledge approach and teachers’ own passion are significant to their professional development. The thesis proposes a case for reflexive breakout, a phrase used to portray the transformative capacity of teachers in developing their professional practice. This perhaps has some implications for further research in understanding the professional development of trainee teachers.